My Briquet De Vie
by Colonel-Tavingtons-girls
Summary: Colonel Tavington grew up with a certain knowledge of a strange group called the Briquet De Vie. He doubted that he would ever see one in his life, but all that changes when the lord general Cornwallis wants to know if they exist, and a past apparition re
1. Chapter 1

Early Days

Ten-year-old William Tavington ran into the family library, and slammed the door shut. His parents were going at it again, and the library seemed to be the only place in the house where he could not hear the bickering. He pulled the book he was reading off the shelf on the far side of the room. The Briquet De Vie Volume Three is what it was called. Many of the other children had told him stories that they had heard of this strange group, but William had believed none of it.

"If they are real," he had said," They would be hung for witchcraft."

The others had disagreed with him, and said that they only allow themselves to be seen when a death has occured, or if they are captured.

"Why is it only when a death has occured," William asked.

"Because they take the souls, and lead them up to heaven, and then they make the bodies disappear."

"That's rediculous," William had said. Now as he read the books, he was beginning to believe the stories more and more. There was even a picture in the book that someone had drawn. The artist claimed to have seen her when hiswife was shot by a soldier who had claimed to need water and medical aid. Her hair was very short. It came down to about the center of her neck. She wasn't wearing a dress like the girls and women William was used to seeing, but she was wearing a long cloak with a rather large hood. He wondered if the artist really had seen one of the Briquet De Vie. The third volume of the Briquet De Vie series was as far as William got before his father told him never to read the books again, and then burned the books while William was sleeping. William later thought to himself that having a knowledge of the Briquet De Vie was useless anyway. Whether he knew of them or not, he doubted he would ever see one.


	2. Chapter 2

Early Days Part 2

The days that followed the book burning, Williams father began to show weaknesses in body strength. William figured that it was just from him drinking so much, but he hoped it might be something serious. In truth, he hoped that this time, his father's illness was fatal. He probably wouldn't wish it so much if his mother had not been killed by his father two days previously. She had yelled at him for burning the books, and it had been while he was drunk. He had turned around and slapped her with incredible force. He had then pulled out a pistol, which he always kept by his side,and pulled the trigger on her. William had told the doctors that it was his father who killed her, but out of fear and ignorance, they chose not to listen to him. William's sister, Davina Tavington had asked him what happened to her mother, but he would never tell her the truth about it.

One night William was trying to sleep, but every time he dozed, agonized moaning would jerk him out of slumber.

"William," he heard his father call,"help me please!"

William sat up slowly. His father never called for anyone's aid no matter how much pain he was in. Either way, William did not intend to help him.

William went to his door and opened it. For a moment,he couldn't move. His father lay in the middle of the hallway, face down and immobile.

'Dead.' William thought to himself. 'He finally did himself in.'

And in fact, William's father was dead. But before young William could do anything about it, a silvery silhouette appeared next to his father's body; the thing turned his father over on his back and stretched out a hand over his chest, and crackling, white, current-like cords grew out of the veins of its wrist and wrapped around it's hand. William's eyes widened in horror and awe. 'Briquet De Vie.' He thought. 'Life Lighter.'

As William continued to watch entranced, the cords that came from the Briquet De Vie's wrist sank down into his father's chest and withdrew a black smokey substance which surged on the magical cords into the outstretched hand of the Briquet De Vie. But just as the smokey substance reached it's hands, something went horribly wrong. The Briquet De Vie went rigid, and blinding white cords erupted from its entire body, quickly turning black, and when William was able to see again, the once silvery cloaked being was now an eerily shining black. A horrified scream caught in his throat as the Briquet De Vie slowly lifted it's cloaked head to look at him; one of it's eyes was a bright crimson, the other dark as night, and it had a scar running the length of the right side of its forehead, across its right eye down to its jaw. It stared venomously at William, muttering something incoherent to him, and pulled back it's right sleeve to reveal a jagged scar running the length of its forearm as black cords began erupting out of its wrist and into its hand as it took aim at him.

William's mouth went dry, his eyes wide and white with terror as the Briquet De Vie thrust its arm back to throw the ball of cords it had created at him, but before it could thrust it forward, it jerked back suddenly, as if surprised, as William felt the area behind him grow warm and bright. He turned and gazed up at a pair of green eyes, staring kindly down at him.

"It's alright. You're safe now.."

William suddenly felt very queasy and light headed.

"Rest now, young Tavington..."

William closed his eyes, and distantly felt himself being carried out of the room, and then nothing, nothing at all...


	3. Chapter 3

**A Blackmailing Proposal**

A/N: Davina Tavington belongs to SteeleRanger; I used her with permission, and she is not to be used by anyone else without permission.

* * *

30-year-old Colonel William Tavington rode his horse down the rode, and slowed it to a stop when a white tent came into view. He didn't want to have to ride through the camp, which was full of screaming and moaning men, all of which were wounded and some at death's door. The colonel sighed and urged his horse into a light trot.

"No!" came a terrified voice to Tavingtons left,"Please don't cut! Don't cut!"

Tavington turned his head away from the tent, where the shadow of a large blade lowered and began sawing at the mans leg. His fearful and pleading moaning turned to agonized screams of pain. If he wasn't losing his leg, Tavington would have thought him a coward.

"I'm glad to see you've finaly made it." a voice said somewhere below him.

Tavington stared down the right side of his horse and found his superior, Lord General Cornwallis staring up at him in an irritated fashion.

"Well are you going to come in, or are you going to continue sitting there like a useless lump?" Cornwallis squawked; he turned and disappeared inside the tent.

Colonel Tavington bit his tongue as he jumped down from his horse. What he wouldn't give to boot Cornwallis in the ass just then!

"Sit down Colonel." Cornwallis said; Tavington sat down next to a very steamed looking General O'Hara.

"The General has just told me something,Colonel." Cornwallis said. "It was something rather humorous."

" Really sir?" Tavington inquired.

"Yes," Cornwallis replied, "tell me, have you ever heard of a group called the Briquet De Vou?"

"It's Vie sir, and yes I've heard a thing or two."

"He believes in them!" Cornwallis blurted suddenly. "A child's fairy tale and he believes it!"

Out of the Corner of his eye, Tavington saw O'Hara's face go brick red.

"Well," Cornwallis said when Tavington didn't laugh, "what do you think of that?"

Tavington didn't answer.

_"You're safe now" ..."Rest now, young Tavington"..._

That same voice rang in his head. He had never forgotten it, but still refused to ever believe it had been real.

"You've got to be joshing me." the Lord General's flat, irritated voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Two fully grown men still believing in one of the most ridiculous children's fairy tales ever told!"

No one said anything.This was rather embarrassing for Tavington, for he did and didn't believe in them.

"Fine," Cornwallis said, "Tavington, go and catch one for me. You have five days."

"Do what?" Tavington asked.

"Find a Briquet De Vou and bring it to me." repeated Cornwallis simply.

Tavington's mouth fell slightly open; quickly regaining himself, he replied, "Milord, with respect sir, it's Briquet De _Vie_, and why are you not asking Gen. O'Hara to capture one?"

"Well, Colonel, I do believe it is you, who has the sort of _tactics_ that would be required for this sort of a request. And besides, you wouldn't want your men to find out that you believe in a fairy tale being, would you? I mean, you're an elite soldier..." Cornwallis explained, a cruel smirk turning up the corners of his mouth.

Col. Tavington inhaled sharply, beginning to get annoyed with his superior's blackmailing proposal, but he was unwilling to risk, his dignity being soiled by anyone other than himself, so turning back to Cornwallis, he nodded.

"Very well sir, it's done."


	4. Chapter 4

Tavington was a very quick thinker, and, based on his knowledge of the Briquet De Vie, came up with a plan at once on how to carry out Lord Cornwallis' bidding. He took a prisoner captured from a raid, and stood him up against a wall.

"Soldiers take aim," he said carelessly; "ready..."

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T! PLEASE!" the prisoner cried.

"Fire."

Six gunshots echoed around and left a ringing silence within the group. The prisoner lay lifeless on the ground with blood spilling from every wound, leaving crimson trails on his body and the ground.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"They did it on purpose, my lady." said aman's voice; "Should we go?"

Silence followed this. Someone shifted in a chair.

"What was the name of the deceased?" A female voice asked.

"Charles Omyra, my lady." Theman replied.

There was another moment's silence.

"It was his time." the female voice replied. "I'll go."

Another much younger voice piped up, "Oh, my lady, can't I take this one? Please?"

"No," an older male voice replied; "you are too troublesome. You lost us a spirit last time and-"

"Aziz, you shame yourself!" admonished the female. "It was not Aaron's fault that one of our own was poisoned to another side. Aaron is the same way you were when you were only just starting out at this."

Then, speaking to the boy, she said, "Aaron, this is a dangerous one, and I will not permit you to risk your life for it. Next time, if it is safe, you may try again."

Then, without another word, she disappeared.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ten more minutes and we will leave." Tavington said.

He and his men had been waiting around the dead prisoner for at least an hour and a half. A couple of soldiers had been whispering amongst one another, but with a death threat from their commander, they fell silent.

Nearly ten minutes later, they were still waiting; Tavington was about to give up and call it quits when a sweeping sound met his ears. Many men shrank back as she came into view. Tavington's body stiffened, his muscles so tense they almost hurt. It was at this time that he knew that what he had seen and experienced as a young boy was no mirage. He _had_ seen a Briquet De Vie.

The being before them floated over to the body, unaware of her surroundings. Tavington motioned for his men to make their moves. He stood up and she gazed at him, a fierceness in her eyes as she refused to be deterred by the power displayed by Col. Tavington and his Green Dragoons.

"Good evening," Tavington purred evilly; "we've been expecting you."

She only stared as more men gathered around her, swords and guns raised and pointed. Tavington took in her features. She wore a white cloak and under that, a white dress which had gold outlining her collar and making up her belt which wrapped around her waist and went down the middle of her dress. Strapped to her belt was a silver, curved sword, with a hilt that looked to be made of fine white marble. There seemed be a glow around her. Her stare was mesmerizing.

"Are all your kind so hypnotizing to look at?" Tavington asked.

"Do you not realize what is happening to you as you look at me?" She asked, her voice sounding like a distant echo. "You stare so carelessly, and don't even realize that by doing so, you are giving your life to me,and thus slowly dying from it."

The colonel quickly averted his gaze.

"By order of Lord General Cornwallis, you are hereby under arrest." He commanded. "You will come quietly, or dead. Either way, I have no preference."

"Even if I chose not to go quietly, you could not kill me." She replied. "For I am but a spirit, and therefore, cannot be killed by any mortal weapon that you or your men possess."

"Well then, you will come quietly, or I will let my men have you." Tavington said, beginning to get irritated.

"I hate you." she hissed.

"Many people do." Tavington purred his words maliciously. "But in case you haven't noticed, it doesn't phase me one bit."

He grabbed her arm and felt a lump growing beneath his hand. He yanked up her sleeve and then suddenly jerked away. A chalk-white swervy line went slithering up her arm and out of sight. He had seen that once before, but it was a different Briquet De Vie, and the line was black, not white.

"You remember.." she whispered to the colonel. "You remember that night. The night of your father's death, and the night that bore the Briquet De Phantom.."

Col. Tavington looked at her shocked and horrified. The soldiers pushed past him, and he watched with wide eyes. He remembered her.

_You're safe now... sleep, young Tavington..._

He had never forgotten that voice; and now, he had just captured the owner of it.


	5. Chapter 5

Col. Tavington followed Sephardim down the hallway towards the lord general's quarters. They had met up with Gen. O'Hara down on the grounds of Middleton Place, and he insisted on leading them in.

As Tavington watched Sephardim walk, he realized how graceful her stride was, and for a moment, he couldn't tell if she was walking on air or the ground as they made their way into the Middleton Place estate.

"In here." O'Hara said, ushering them into Cornwallis' quarters.

He seemed very happy about something; it was most likely because Col. Tavington had captured a real Briquet De Vie.

"Milord, Col. Tavington has captured what you deem to be a myth." Gen. O'Hara announced triumphantly.

Cornwallis raised an eyebrow and then began laughing when Sephardim came to a halt in front of him.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Tavington asked.

"Tell me, young lady," Cornwallis drawled, "how much did the colonel pay you to do this?"

Sephardim raised an eyebrow to him.

"I was not paid to do anything, sir." she replied cooly. "Your men purposely killed a man, and I came to retrieve him. That is when the colonel took me away and brought me here."

The lord general stared hard at her and then suddenly burst out laughing.

"You've memorized your lines, I see. That's very amusing, Colonel. Very, very-"

CRASH!

A porcelain plate flew across the room and smashed against the wall, just inches from the lord general's head.

"How dare you mock her!" a low, yet sharp female voice hissed. "Imbecilic, foolish mortal!"

Another plate flew across the room and smashed in the same spot and some of the candles that Cornwallis had lit went out.

"Imbecilic, foolish mortal!" the voice hissed again.

"What is going on?" the lord general demanded in a raised voice.

"Estartae..." Sephardim whispered softly. "Vie Maudite."

A black mist swirled around the room, and began whirling together. Soon there was an outline of a female body, and then facial features and clothing. As the figure continued to evolve from the midst, Tavington began to recognize her. The long ebony hair; the black cloak; the black dress and silver seams; the scar on the right side of her face, and the jagged scar that shone on her forearm as she thrust it out before her threateningly, holding her hand out palm-up as black cords began coiling like snakes around it. This particular Briquet De Vie was present the night that Tavington's father had died.

"How dare you mock my fellow leader!" she yelled suddenly, her red eye gleaming brightly in rage, while her black eye remained cold and emotionless.

"Estartae don't." Sephardim warned.

Estartae's face twisted in rage and from the coils of black around her hand, she produced a knife and pointed it at Cornwallis.

"He mocks you so!" she hissed. "He has mocked us both!"

Glaring at Cornwallis with her red eye, Estartae threw the knife at the lord general. There was a sudden flash like lightning and the next thing anyone knew, Sephardim was holding the knife by the blade. Cornwallis' jaw dropped.

"Estartae, do not cause trouble." she said cooly, trying to mask the anxiety she was feeling. "Can you not see that I may already be in trouble now?"

"How can _you_ be in trouble?" Estartae demanded. "_He's_ the one who kidnapped you!"

Angrily, she picked up an ink bottle and hurled it at Col. Tavington.

"Estartae leave!" Sephardim ordered. "This is _my_ problem. Let me deal with it as I see fit."

Estartae glanced over at Col. Tavington who had his hand on the butt of his pistol.

"Don't think I don't remember you." she spat at him. "It's your bloody father's fault I'm like this! Yes, I enjoyed disposing of _his_ despicable soul. I have been punished for it of course, but I don'tgive a damn anymore. I have a new goal. For when you die, I will be the first to find you, and when I do, I will send you straight to where he is n-"

The room was engulfed in white light once again, and Cornwallis and Tavington had to cover their eyes for a short second.

"You know better than to threaten the fate of a mortal!" Sephardim said harshly. "Estartae, I am asking you as a friend and fellow leader to please leave."

Estartae didn't move.

"Because you are my friend and fellow leader, I will leave and they will not be harmed." Estartae whispered quietly, her eyes burning brightly with rage.

Quickly, she turned to Tavington and said in a low, threatening voice, "You _will_ free her after this. If you don't, I promise I _will_ see you again."

With that, she left in a gust of wind and black mist, knocking over a tall wooden bookshelf which Col. Tavington had to dodge, as her cruel evil laughter lingered in the room and then disappeared with a final cloud of black mist.

Cornwallis stared stared at Sephardim, his mouth opening and closing.

"I ask that you forgive her." Sephardim said humbly. "It's not her fault that she is the way she is."

Cornwallis continued to open and close his mouth. Col. Tavington smirked.

"You're really one of them." Cornwallis said slowly. "You really are.."

"Yes." Sephardim replied. "I am."

"What do you want with her?" Tavington asked.

"You heard what the other one said." Cornwallis answered in a slightly higher voice than usual. "let her go."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Col. Tavington led Sephardim back outside.

"Please forgive me," he said, "forgive me for the inconvenience. You have my word that it won't happen again."

"No, I suppose it won't." Sephardim replied. "I must be getting back now. I don't think we need another war to occur."

"Sephardim," Tavington said suddenly, "will I see you again?"

"Would you like to?" Sephardim asked.

"You seem to have wisdom and valuable information." the colonel said. "It may be useful to me..."

"if you wish to contact me, you must be very careful of what you think of." Sephardim replied. "Think of death. Beware though, if you think of it in the wrong way, you will most likely have another run-in with Estartae."

Before Tavington could say a word, Sephardim became translucent and soon disappeared, leaving nothing but a cloud of white mist in her wake.

_Don't think of it in the wrong way.._ Tavington thought, _Don't think of death in the wrong way..._

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked out loud.

_You'll see.._ a female voice echoed in his head. _You'll see..._


	6. Chapter 6

Several days passed and again, Col. Tavington was called to battle. With infamous fearlessness, he charged with his men headlong into the thick of the action, slashing effortlessly with his saber, stabbing hearts and decapitating heads as he went, leaving a trail of blood and bodies in his wake. There was something about this killing, this mass murder of men that drove him on and though he didn't like to admit it, a part of the colonel liked it.

As he charged on, his blood thirst grew and as it did, he noticed a swirling black mist behind him.

_Estartae.._

Col. Tavington's eyes rounded.

_Beware, though, if you think of it in the wrong way..._

Trying to blank his mind of any thought or feeling, Col. Tavington rode on, fighting until the battle ended with a British victory, and he was able to dismount his horse and rest.

"Well done, sir." Capt. Bordon said, coming up to stand beside his commander.

"Thank you, Captain. Yes, another victory for the British. I say, why don't these _rustics_ just give in? They're never going to win."

Capt. Bordon laughed and Col. Tavington smirked.

"Oh well, might as well fight them until the last one dies.."

"I guess so.." replied the captain. "I'm going to gather the men and get the tallies. I'll see you back at camp."

Col. Tavington nodded to his captain and then walked over to the entrance of some nearby woods. It was then that he spotted several figures further in, their bodies glowing white against the darkness of the woods. Creeping into the woods so he could get a better look, Col. Tavington recognized them as Briquet De Vie, and Sephardim was among them.

"Sephardim!" he called.

But she continued to walk gracefully along as if she hadn't heard him.

"Sephardim!" he called again a bit louder, stepping even closer to the group.

No answer.

Finally, growing impatient, Col. Tavington walked up behind Sephardim and grabbed her shoulder.

"Sephardim-"

Without warning Sephardim's white robes turned to a shining black and as the Briquet De Vie turned to face him, Col. Tavington realized with horror that it wasn't Sephardim he had been calling to.

_Estartae!_

"So, _Colonel_, we meet again..." Estartae's voice dripped with deadly malice as she thrust out her arm, producing black cords that wrapped around the colonel, quickly binding him to a tree.

"What do you want with me?" Col. Tavington demanded angrily, beginning to get anxious. "I wasn't the one who cursed you!"

"Oh no, but the blood of the one who did runs in _your_ veins." she replied, her red eye glinting evilly.

"Untie me at once!" the colonel shouted, trying to struggle against the bonds, but cried out in pain as he did so.

"I wouldn't struggle, the bonds will cut into your flesh if you do.."

"I demand you set me free! I freed Sephardim, you have what you want!"

"Not quite." Estartate replied.

Holding her left hand palm up, Estartae formed a black ball of chords that wriggled and writhed until it gave way to reveal an ancient yet deadly looking sword.

Col. Tavington inhaled sharply.

"I still need your blood.. Don't worry, dear William, you'll be with your sister very soon.."

_Davina.._

Thoughts of his sister raced through his mind. Her beautiful face and laughing blue eyes. The way she used to tease them. Everything that he remembered about her came back to him, including her tragic death, right before his eyes.

"Davina.." he cried, his voice nearly inaudible.

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light and Col. Tavington could feel the energy draining from him as his eyes began to roll into the back of his head.

"It's alright. You're safe now.." a familiar voice whispered in his ear. "Rest now, young Tavington..."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but it's going to have to do, until we come up with more ideas. If you have any, feel free to leave them in reviews. Thanks!

-SteeleRanger and Obsessed-1

Col. Tavington awoke some time later, lying on his back in the woods, with Sephardim kneeling next to him, gazing at his face, a certain sternness in her green eyes.

"Sephardim.."

"You didn't do what I asked. You didn't think correctly about death." she said, her voice suddenly icy.

"How am I supposed to when you don't even tell me how?"

"Colonel, you're not supposed to _enjoy _killing."

"I'm a soldier."

"Yes, but not all soldiers enjoy killing, and because you did, you attracted the presence of Estartae. Did you not notice her following you on the battlefield? The black mist?"

"Well what the bloody hell am I supposed to do? Just simply hate my job?"

"No, but you must learn not to enjoy it as much as you do. Keep your mind blank."

Col. Tavington cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"Mind you, I don't expect you to perfect this instantly, so be warned, it is very likely that you and Estartae will cross paths again. Yet next time, even if you _do_ call to me for help, I will not come, for you need to learn to deal with Estartae on your own. Yes, she is a very deadly foe, and she would have killed you in a matter of minutes had I not come. But you can prevail against her."

"How?"

"That is for you to discover on your own."

"Will I get to see you again? Without needing rescuing I mean?"

"If you call to me.."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Col. Tavington asked, beginning to get fed up with Sephardim's vague answers.

"That too, is for you to discover on your own.."

With that, Sephardim disappeared in a cloud of white mist, leaving the colonel alone in the forest.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a whole week since Colonel Tavington had seen Sephardim, and it was making him very angry. It made him think of something he hated to think about; something that still brought tears to his eyes if he thought hard enough. "Well," said a voice behind him," you caught on quickly. I didn't expect that." The colonel whirled around. "Sephardim," he said softly,"you came back."

"You called me didn't you?" she asked.

"Did I?"

"You thought about death." Sephardim replied. "And in the right way this time."

Tavington stared at her. She sighed.

"Nevermind," she said quickly; "was there something you wanted of me?"

"No,"Tavington replied, "I just wanted to see you. I wanted to know that you hadn't abandoned me."

"Abandoned you?" Sephardim asked.

"Yes." replied the colonel, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "I always doubted. The thought of people..or spirits..like you existing was ridiculous, even to me. Then I found you, an apparition from my childhood, standing before me, as solid and real as I. I believe I would begin to doubt again if you were never to come back."

"You always were a doubter," Sephardim replied, sighing once more. "I've been watching over you and your family since the day you were born."

"Why?" Tavington asked.

"I was assigned." Sephardim replied simply. "I was to watch over you and your sister. That was before I became a leader. I had the choice to let someone else take over my watch, but I had seen too much, and decided to continue watching while I led the Briquet De Vie."

"How did you do that all on your own?"

"I wasn't alone. Estartae helped me."

Tavington looked at her, his eyes beginning to grow white with anger at the mention of the Vie Maudite.

"That _beast_ helped you?"

"That _beast_ is my best friend, and fellow leader. She is not bad. She's just poisoned. We're trying to help her, but every time we do, something happens, and we have to start all over."

"Where is she now?"

"At the Haven. This is my chance to step in and fix this."

Tavington said nothing. He never would have thought that Estartae was a leader of such a group. He was aware of her having a connection to Sephardim because they had called each other friends in Lord Cornwallis' quarters. But he had never even begun to consider the fact that she had once been as good as Sephardim.

"I must go." said Sephardim suddenly.

"Wait!" Tavington said, as a thought struck him, "My sister. She-"

"I must go." Sephardim repeated, and she disappeared before he could stop her.

She knew. He knew so, and there was something she didn't want to tell him.


	9. Chapter 9

Estartae opened her eyes slowly and clenched them shut again from the brightness of the light shining on her. _The haven_, she thought. It was unclear to her how she got there. She remembered she was attacking that bastard Colonel when a tremendous force stopped her. That was all she could remember though. She sat up slowly after her eyes became a little more adjusted to the light. She was in a clearing. In the Haven, the clearings were more like private rooms for each member of the Briquet De Vie. She recognized this particular clearing. Only the leaders of the Briquet De Vie were allowed there. It was their own private space away from the stresses of the real world, and the annoyances of their advisors, babbling on about things that weren't important or that they already knew about. Estartae could hear the soothing hum of bodiless voices on the air. They hummed a tune that Estartae had not heard since she had left the Haven.

"You remember it then," a voice asked her," that tune."

"Estartae swung around," Sephardim."

"Yes, my friend. I had hoped you would wake up soon."

"How did I get here?"

"I brought you here. I cannot have you killing mortals when it is not their time, Estartae. How can I ever hope to save you if you break one of our most sacred rules?"

"I suppose you did it for my own good."

"Yes."

The two stood opposite of each other and stared for a moment. Sephardim was the first to make herself comfortable on the ground.

"Won't you sit with me?" She invited Estartae, who nodded and sat next to her.

"What is the purpose of keeping me here, friend?"

Sephardim said nothing for a moment.

"I want to show you something," she finally replied," About how you came to be one of us."

Estartae stared in curiosity. Sephardim ran her hand in a circle in the small patch of grass in front of them. It was no surprise to Estartae when a scene began to form in the circle. It was a scene of a woman who was hanging laundry on a line, and smiling now and then at an infant lying in a basket a little off to the side.

"We are not all born as Briquet De Vie, Estartae," Sephardim began her story," That's your mother there."

Estartae had never known that she had ever had a mother. No one had ever told her the fact that some Briquet De Vie were born as humans.

"I don't remember her," she said.

"Those who were born as mortals tend to forget that lifestyle that they had," Sephardim replied," Unfortunately yours wasn't very long."

Estartae looked back upon the scene playing out before her. It had jumped ahead a few years. Estartae could not have been older than seven or eight. She was outside chasing a dog around as once again her mother was hanging laundry to dry. Now and then she would pause to try and catch Estartae as she ran by. As she worked, two men appeared from the side of the circle and grabbed her. Estartae had run to her mother, hitting the men, trying to get them to let her go. Estartae's mother had gotten free of the men and tried run away, but another man had grabbed Estartae and held a knife to her throat. Their mouths were moving but there was no sound. The scene faded.

"Wait," Estartae said," Wait! what did they do?"

"After they grabbed you, they threatened to kill you if your mother did not cooperate with them. We know not who they were or why they targeted you or your mother. They did horrible things to her, and she did not fight them for fear of losing you. They tied your hands and put a sack over your head. When they were done with her they dragged the two of you outside, and they made her watch as they slit your throat and threw you into the river. They killed her soon after."

Estartae felt so angry at this. She wished more than anything to hurt them, but what could she do now? That scene must have taken place hundreds of years ago.

"How did I come to be here?" she asked.

"I was still in training," Sephardim explained," My master had chosen me as the next leader, and was training me privately, apart from the others. He and I watched the scene. We couldn't stop them because it was both your times. Another rule with us is that we cannot interfere if it is someones time to go, no matter how much we want to stop it. My master was very old. Probably the oldest Briquet De Vie we had. We knew his time was coming. He said I needed someone to train to take over for me, or rule with me when he is gone. You barely served a purpose on earth, so he chose you to assist me. I stayed behind and watched him go down to you. He used the last of his strength guiding your mother away, and before he even realized it, he went with her. That was when I became the leader of the Briquet De Vie. I knew it was my responsibility to come get you. Your spirit stood by the side of the river where you had been thrown in, and you simply wept. You were frightened when you saw me, but I explained to you that you had a purpose to serve elsewhere."

The scene in the circle showed Sephardim holding her hand out to Estartae, and Estartae taking it slowly. The wind around them began to blow, and they simply faded away.

"It was you," Estartae said," I remember somehow...it felt like i had fallen asleep and when I woke up, my mother was gone, and I was standing alone. I remember a man had passed by and I tried to get him to help me, but he ignored me. I later realized it was because he couldn't see me. I remember now. You came to me, and I felt this sense of trust and comfort. Somehow I knew you were there to help me...to guide me."

Sephardim smiled and nodded," I taught you everything I knew. It was said centuries ago that two Briquet De Vie, one created purely by the earth spirits, and the other brought out of the mortal world, would unite to become the two most powerful leaders the Briquet De Vie will ever see."

"You mean..." Estartae asked, unsure of finishing the question.

"Yes, Estartae," Sephardim said," You and I. But we can't become that unless you are healed."

Estartae looked past Sephardim and around the clearing. The memory of how she had even become the Briquet De Phantom had slipped away a long time ago.

"How can I be healed," she finally asked.

"I can only help you so much," Sephardim replied,"One way is by showing you your past, and reminding you of what you are meant to be. The rest is up to you. I cannot force you to be anything. Not all prophecies ever come true the way we expect or would want."

The two were silent again. Only the hum of the Haven's tune could be heard.

"How did I get this way?" Estartae asked.

Sephardim stared at her and then waved both hands over the circle in the ground, and a scene appeared before them. A young boy of about ten or so went running down a dim hallway and into a younger girls' room. In the background was the sound of a man and woman yelling and glasses breaking. Estartae watched as the young boy sat down on the girls' bed and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Don't listen Davina," he said as he stroked her head," Mother will make him be quiet."

"Colonel Tavington wasn't always the Butcher," Sephardim said,"His behavior branched off of his experiences as a child. He loved his sister and mother, but loathed his father, who was far more cruel than young Tavington today."

Estartae watched the scenes change around. Young William Tavington sat in a large library, his nose buried deep in a book. Estartae could tell it was about the Briquet De Vie because on the front cover was a well drawn picture of Sephardim. She pointed this out to her friend.

"I don't know how that picture came to be," Sephardim said with a hint of amusement," But someone got it. There is one of you too on one of the other volumes."

"The boy read about us?"

"Yes. Young William had heard tales of us from his school mates. He didn't understand, nor believe a word of what he was told. Like everyone else in the world, his curiosity got the best of him, and he began to research and study us through books. He never thought he would ever encounter us. His father didn't approve of him reading those kinds of things though."

The scene before them switched to a huge fire behind the Tavinton's estate. William's father was burning every single book they had on the Briquet De Vie. When William had attempted to grab the last book out of his fathers' hand, he was struck hard across the face and fell to the ground. Wobbling and leaning slightly from his drunkness, his father threw the last book into the flames.

"It was the only one William had left to read. He had gained a decent knowledge of our kind and what our prupose is. At some point, he even hoped that we would come and kill his father."

"I would have been more than happy to," Estartae spat," I am beginning to remember him well. He raped and killed his wife. I watched."

"He was your downfall," Sephardim said. Estartae looked at her. Sephardim waved her hand over the circle again. It was the night Tavingtons' father had died.

"We saw it coming," Sephardim said as the two watched the man crawling on the floor,"It seemed like ages before it finally happened. At that time you had been training one of our younger Briquet De Vie. We both thought this would be a good oppurtunity for him to practice what he had learned from you. You and I escorted young Aaron down to the Tavington household. When we found the body, i watched as you walked Aaron through the steps of guiding the soul."

Estartae watched as she helped her charge to produce his white cords from his hand, and stretch it over the deceased. When the he extracted the soul, something happened that not even Estartae could make sense of. The essence of the mans' sould seemed to be blackening Aaron's cords. Frightened, he flung the soul off and it hit Estartae. She watched herself transform into the Briquet De Phantom. After she had looked over herself she saw young William, standing in the middle of the hall, staring at her with shocked eyes. By then, Sephardim had already ordered Aaron back to the Haven.

After a moment of staring each other down, Estartae lunged at young Tavington, producing stiffened cords.As she made ready to run him through, the scene was engulfed in that blinding light again.

"You always stop me with that light," Estartae said.

"It is the only thing that will halt you in your path. I am the only one who can or will ever use that on you," Sephardim replied.

The circle before them cleared and turned pack into a patch of grass. Estartae stared at the spot for a moment. If Colonel Tavington had nothing to do with what happened to her, then why did she hate him so much? Why did she want to take out her revenge on him? She voiced these thoughts to Sephardim.

"Colonel Tavington is much like his father these days, if not worse on occasion. Though he did not care for his father, the likeness in behavior still exists. The connection to his father is what draws you to the Colonel. Which is why I am always watching you. The state that you are in is one that you cannot control, but one that I can stop. I myself don't fully understand it, but I know that you can be healed from it. But again that all depends on you."

"I don't know what to do," Estartae replied," Remembering all this can only do so much for me. What else must I do?"

"Give back to your enemy," was Sephardim's answer.

Estartae stared at her with apparent confusion.

Sephardim smiled at her," You will understand in time. Now go, and heal. And please try to stay away from the Colonel."

The two stood up and clasped each others hands for a second.

"For you, I will heal, and I will try to leave the Colonel alone. Will you still assist me?"

"I will do only what I can."

Estartae nodded, and disappeared in a cloud of black mist.

"Only what I can," Sephardim repeated to herself.


End file.
